Forming a Promise
by Kohari
Summary: YOU WANTED IT! YOU GOT IT! THE SEQUEL TO Breaking a Promise IS HERE! Read and Review, please! Temporarily Discontinued due to lack of reviews.
1. Beginning Again

_**Forming a Promise  
**_Chapter 1

Kohari: Welcome to the sequel of "Breaking a Promise." Hope you enjoy it!

NOTE: DISLCAIMER IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE STORY!

(Begin!)

"Soooo…"Tyson began, on the dojo porch, everyone lounging around near him. He sat leaning his back against the wall beside the door, hands behind his head in a thoughtful manner (Tyson? Thoughtful? Ha!). Kenny was sitting 'Indian-style' ("Criss-cross applesauce!") on side of the door, Dizzi, the lovable laptop, balancing on his knees, fingers dancing swiftly, but gracefully, along the keyboard, doing who-knows-what (He's playing Asian Empires.). Max sat on the steps right palm cradling his chin. Ray was beside him, on the portion without stairs, legs dangling over the side. Kai stood against one of the support posts, silently wondering why Hilary wasn't there. "What're we gonna do?" (Tyson speaking)

Max sighed. "There's nothing TO do, Ty."

"You have to go back to the U.S. at the end of this week, don't you, Max?" Kenny asked, just for the sake of conversation. Tyson, who wasn't aware of this fact, the dope, perked up, listening. But then again, so did everyone else.

"Yeah, school starts August 25 (to comply with new regulations in my area)," the American answered. He was anxious to go see the (PPB) All Stars again, but he was also a little hesitant to leave his old team. They'd been through a lot together, even to the point of rivalry.

"I have to leave soon, too," Ray commented. A shower of 'why's followed.

"I thought you were in the exchange student program or something," Tyson added.

"Sort of," came the response. "It was the summer program."

"You can do that?" Max asked.

"Yeah. I was going to, but Mom didn't like the idea," Kenny said. Kai remained quiet the whole time (in case no one noticed). Once, his eyes wandered to the gate, but immediately returned before anyone could notice.

"When does your school start Ray?" (Max)

"Oh. Actually, I'm going back to help with the harvest. Lee wrote and told me they should start picking in a few days."

"So you don't go to school?" Kenny wondered.

"I do, it's just that the fields come first, as it is my family's business. I still pass. I get by. Don't worry about it."

"Hey guys!" a voice called from the road. The subject was dropped. All heads turned to see Hilary jogging up to them. If you looked closely, you could see Kai's eyes light up for a second. "What's going on?"

"Absolutely nothing," Tyson told her. They had all forgotten the previous conversation, curious to see what was in the package she had brought with her.

"Oh. I made cookies." She showed them the box she had to reveal that this was true. All eyes got starry (except Kai's, who's never/hardly ever happy about anything). "Dig in, guys!"

They did. Crumbs were flying everywhere as Tyson shoved a handful in his mouth. Kai wiped some off that had landed on his cheek. Max, Ray, and Kenny managed to snag a few before the whole container was dumped down Tyson's throat.

Hilary, disgusted at her classmate's eating habits, looked away. Both she and Kai found themselves staring at one another. After a few moments, she smiled at him and turned toRay,asking about flight times.

Kai grinned back, a little too late, but it didn't matter to him.

Hilary walked by him to fetch the broom and he noticed that she was dressed like she had when she was with the BeyKats. And since when did she wear perfume? Well, she had when she had defected, but he had assumed all that would change after…she was even acting as though none of it had happened, except that she was being nicer to everyone. It sort of worried him. Would she leave them again? He sincerely hoped not.

She swept up the mess that Tyson had made on the porch, and even the dirt. Throwing it away, everyone complimented her. She was actually a pretty good cook, and sweet as her cookies (NO WEIRD THOUGHTS!).

After some chit-chat of exchanging recipes, the group grew quiet once more. Boredom spread like the plague.

"Sooo…what're we gonna do?" (Tyson)

Authoress's Note: That whole chapter was typed to the 'Josie and the Pussycats' CD, particularly the following songs: "Shapeshifter," "Spin Around," "Three Small Words," "You Don't See Me," and "Backdoor Lover" in that order.


	2. This Time Around

**Forming a Promise**

Kohari: Okay, guys. I'm really sorry for the wait. Seriously. I mean, I had up to, like, chapter 4 written, but as many of you know, I had a little depression spell, and then exams and SATs (I have another one next month...), and then there was the Theatre class that my co-author (GGF J) and I are in...so I've been busy. I know you're tired of hearing excuses and just wanna read the new chapter, so I'll shut up now. Once again, sorry for the wait.

* * *

There were tears of joy and tears of sadness as Kenny, Hilary, Kai, Tyson, Mr. D, and all the other supporters as Ray and max boarded their planes. Their flight times were too close together, so they had to split up. Kai, Hilary, and Mr. D went to see ray off, and the rest went with Max. 

Exchanges of 'good luck' and 'take care' were passed with hope and sorrow. Mr. D gave Ray his best wishes and Hilary gave him a hug good-bye (Kai was a little jealous), all of them trying to smile.

"Be back next year!" he called to them as he waved his farewell and started to climb the steps to the airplane entrance. Just as the other two left, Kai summoned him back. Confused, but curious, ray scrambled down. He'd have to hurry; it was about to leave.

The wind blew in their faces as they shouted to talk.

"WHAT?" Ray yelled over the engine.

"HERE! TAKE THIS!" Kia returned, placing a wad of cash in his friend's hand, who was too puzzled to resist.

"Huh? BUT DON'T YOU NEED THIS?" Ray tried to give it back, but Kai refused. It was quite a sum. Ray had never had so much money at hand in his life.

"NO! BUT YOU DO!" Kai replied, not allowing Ray to return the gift he had so generously given. "THE FIELDS DON'T BRING IN ENOUGH TO SUPPORT ANYONE!"

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS, KAI! IT'S TOO MUCH!" Ray attempted once again to place the bills into Kai's hand, but was again denied.

"KEEP IT!"

"I -!" The engine got louder. They were ready to take off. A few workers started approaching the ladder to take it away.

"GO!" Kai commanded. Ray, not wanting to miss the flight, started off.

"THANKS, KAI!" The workers let him get on, greatly annoyed about the delay. The maching rolled down the runway and lifted into the air. Kai watched as it disappeared into the clouds, silhouetted against the perfect blue sky.

"You're welcome," Kai said, though he knew Ray couldn't hear him.But he was sure that he could feel his words.

Back in his seat, Ray gazed out of the window as they left the airport behind them, the people becoming ants, and getting small and smaller until it was impossible to see them. Finally, he relaxed and leaned back, closing his eyes and drifting into a peaceful sleep. In one hand, he grasped tightly the money that Kai had given him, and, in the other, a pack of playing cards.

Kai rejoined all the others. Tyson complained about how he was gonna miss those guys, how gross it was to see Max's mom kiss him good-bye, and how he couldn't wait to see him again in the tournaments to come.

Eventually, the conversation turned to him. "Aren't you gonna go back to Russia, Kai?" Tyson inquired?

Kai snapped out of the trance he had been in, thinking about the past few years, shutting out Tyson's voice. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were going back to Russia."

Kai was quiet for a few moments. "Nah. Not this time around."

* * *

Kohari: Sorry so short. And, by the way, I don't proofread my own work that much, so if you guys notice any mistakes, be sure to lemme know, alright? Greatly appreciated. And I know you're all mad at me, but I would also appreciate a few reviews. Okay. Me out! 


	3. Hello?

**Forming a Promise**

Kohari: I gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed. I waited months for reviews, and none came. And after all that excitement and begging for a sequel to "Breaking a Promise"! See? This is the kinda thing that made me wanna shut down my account in the first place. Is there even a point in continuing when nobody's even reading my work? But I love you guys, so I'm willing to give you another chance. Okay, it's actually that I have this story pretty much planned out, even a sequel called "Keeping a Promise" (Can't tell ya what it's about, though!), but still. Hopefully you guys will want this story to get finished. And I'm sure you want me to shut up now so you can go ahead and actually read (if you still are), so...here it is!

* * *

There were only a few days of summer left before school began once again. Although it wasn't the same without Max or Ray around, they tried to squeeze in some fun while they still could - the only way they knew how. 

"Ready?" Tyson asked, beyblade aimed for the center of the dish.

"I think the question is whether or not _you're_ ready, Tyson," Kai quipped back.

"Oh, you know it," Tyson returned.

"Alright!" Hilary began the countdown. "Three! Two! One!"

"LET IT RIP!"

Two beyblades locked in combat in the beydish just outside the dojo. Sparks flew- literally - as they clashed, each trying to overpower the other as though the bladers' lives depended on it.

Tyson, tired of this child's play, called upon Dragoon to win the fight for him. Dranzer emerged - the kid gloves were off!

"You're going down, Kai!" Tyson predicted.

"Oh, really?" Kai teased. "You're going to have to do better than that!"

Hilary was thoroughly enjoying this spectacle. There was nothing more entertaining than watching Kai and Tyson go at it in a one-on-one beyblade match.

"Hey, Kai," Tyson got his attention, his concentration on the match not wavering.

"Yeah?" Kai maintained his focus as well.

"How about a bet? Loser cleans the pond at the end of the match?" Tyson challenged.

"You're on!"

If it was possible, the two fought even harder. But it was no good - they appeared to be evenly matched. The game could go either way...

Or not.

"Dranzer! Take him down!" Kai commanded. "Full power!"

The blue beyblade rushed at Dragoon with everything it had. It crashed into its opponent, with a shockwave that was strong enough to knock Tyson backwards off of his feet. He was thrown into the pond, landing with a huge splash that wet everything within a yard's radius. Hilary giggled and jumped into the air like a cheerleader while Kai grabbed his knees, panting. That last-ditch effort to beat his rival had taken a lot out of Kai. He thenwalked over to Tyson and threw in a pool cleaning pole at Tyson, who was gasping for air. "You lose, Tyson. Get to work."

"Aw, man!" Tyson complained, batting the water in anger.

"Great job, Kai!" praised Kenny from the porch, who had recorded the whole match for his records. "I'd say this was your best performance yet!"

Kai cracked a smile and glanced at Hilary, involuntarily. Their eyes locked. Embarassed, the two looked quickly away, blushing.

"Congratulations, Kai. That was awesome," Hilary told him.

Kai smiled again. "Thanks."

"Okay. Hilary you're up next," Kenny informed them, interrupting the moment, to their relief. "I guess since Tyson's busy at the moment - ." They couldn't help but check up on Tyson, who was grumbling while wading around in the pond, fulfilling his end of his and Kai's bargain, swearing Kai had cheated or that it was a fluke.

"Since Tyson's busy right now," Kenny continued, "I guess you'll hafta try your hand against Kai."

Kai and Hilary stared at each other for a moment, anxious and remembering the last time they had gone up against one another. It didn't feel comfortable to repeat that. They were spared any further thoughts. The sound of Hilary's cell phone ringing broke in.

Hilary curiously removed her cell phone from her pocket. She didn't think to check the number. Flipping the phone open, she pressed it to her ear and listened.

"Hello?"

* * *

Kohari: Okay. That's it for now. I know it's pretty short, but hey - so is the reviews list. Y'all know how to fix that, though, right? (This is the part where I say "Tootles for now!", right?) 


	4. Phone Call

**Forming a Promise**

Kohari: Well, there was some improvement in the reviews. I'm proud of you guys- you didn't all lose interest. Oh, and funny story. I thought I had lost the original version of the last chapter that I had written up, so I had to write a whole new one. About an hour after I updated, I was in my room and noticed my notebook that I keep all my written copies of chapters in. I went in there and found the original chapter three of FAP. I was pretty ticked at myself, but after reading it, I realized that I could turn it into chapter four! I guess things really do happen for a reason! Enjoy.

* * *

"Hello?" 

The boys looked at one another in silence, wondering who she was talking to. They didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Oh! Hey, Mom!" Hilary exclaimed. "Yeah, I'm over at Tyson's. I told you that's where I was going...Yeah...Really?...Oh. Okay...Sure...Yeah...I'm coming home right now...Okay, Mom...Okay...See ya in a little bit...Okay...Bye-bye!" She snapped it shut.

"Your mom called?" Tyson stated the obvious.

"Yeah. She wants me to come home."

"Why?"

"She says I have an important visitor waiting for me," she explained, "and that I should probably come home right away."

"So I guess we'll be working on your beyblade tomorrow then?" Kenny inquired, disappointed. He had really wanted to update her stats immediatelyso hecould work onupgrading it.

"I guess. See ya tomorrow, guys!" She waved as she took off through the gates.

* * *

Tomorrow found Tyson stretched out on the dojo porch - after all, there wasn't really anything else better to do. The boys were waiting for Hilary to arrive for the match against Tyson (Kai had been a stand-in, remember?), who yawned. "Sure is boring without Max and Ray around, ain't it, guys?" 

"Isn't it," Kenny replied from the middle of a pile of books he was organizing just inside the dojo doorway. It was a particularly hot day. As his glasses began to slip down his nose from sweat, he pressed them back up against his face, then went back to what he was doing.

"Yep."

"I wasn't answering your question, Tyson," the Chief added, "I was correcting your grammar." He sighed, then looked around, his eyes finally resting on Kai, who was cat-napping in a far corner across from his books. Memories flooded his mind of the "good ole days." Man, he never thought he'd be old enough to say that - especially as a teen.

Tyson rose to a sitting position and picked up one of the volumes that had fallen out of the open door of the dojo. How long had it been since a student, other than himself, had gone through those doors? Far too long. Grandpa seemed to have finally given up on teaching, leaving the dojo, well, empty. It made Tyson feel a little guilty. He examined the book curiously, but the words on the cover didn't process. "Say, where's Hil?"

"She's probably at home, staying away from you, you dolt," Kai answered suddenly, causing Tyson to flinch in surprise.

"You were awake?"

"Apparently," Kenny told him. After that, there was a long silence, which Tyson broke.

"They're not coming back, are they?" he wondered aloud sadly. The others were quiet for a while.

"I'm sure they'll be back _someday_, Ty," Kenny assured him. He knew Tyson was referring to Max and Ray. "But we all know that this is a difficult and important part of their schooling...and after this, there's college. Maybe it will be years before they see us again, but they won't forget us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tyson realized that he still held the book and was flipping through its pages, staring at the pictures, but not seeing. "But that don't mean I won't miss 'em."

"True," Kenny agreed, turning his head as Kai stood up, dusting himself off.

"What's up, Kai?" Tyson asked as his friend walked past him, towards the gate.

"A direction, usually referring to something about you," came the retort as the owner of the voice leaned against a column, gazing out at the road, as if waiting for something.

"Haha. Funny," Tyson commented sarcastically.

"Kai made a joke?" Kenny inquired, looking up momentarily once again from his books. Kai made no other statements as the object of his attention strolled up with acall of "Hey guys!"

Tyson wanted to jump up and run to hug her for some odd reason, but he stopped himself. She wasn't his, he reminded himself, she didn't belong to him. She was made for Kai, whether the two knew it or not. Besides, his heart resided with someone else, though he wasn't sure when the last time that he had even heard her voice or seen her signature tagged onto an e-mail. Even so, there were times he couldn't shake the old feelings.

"Took your time," Kai chastised with a slightly thawed voice.

"Well, there were some weird things going on," Hilary excused herself. "That's actually why I came. I have to talk to Kenny."

"So who was the visitor yesterday?" Tyson interrupted.

"Later," she promised him. "Right now, I really gotta talk to Kenny. Come on, Chief."

"Huh?" This was one of those times Kenny transformed into a dumb blonde without even changing his hair color. Hilary went inside, shutting the dojo doors behind her, and handed him his laptop from beyond his reach. "We're not doing the practice run? What's going on?"

"I need you to look at this," she whispered. She slipped her beyblade into his hand. There was a significant difference in its appearance, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

He hooked the instruments (laptop and blade) together and ran an analysis. The cry of the bitbeast was not the same as it was before. "That's not Battle Lynx," he muttered.

"I know," she informed him, still in a low voice. "It's not even a cat. It's a - "

"Fox," Kenny finished for her, inspecting the bit. "What happened?"

"I dunno," she confessed. "But I had been having trouble connecting with Battle Lynx recently, and the other day, I couldn't even call her out when I was training. It's as though she disappeared, and in her place, this new bitbeast. I don't even know her name."

"I've heard of this happening before. People change, and then their spirits disappear."

"So you're saying that, since I'm kinda, well, different now...so is my bitbeast?"

"I'll find out what it's called," the Chief promised, typing viciously on the keyboard. They waited for what seemed like hours, though, in reality, it was only couple of moments. Then, letters scrolled across the screen - brightly colored letters in orange and pink that stood out against the black background.

ARCHANGEL

They didn't have much time to stand in awe. At that same time, Hilary's cell phone began to ring again, and Tyson and Kai entered the dojo. Hilary searched herself for the source of the high-pitched ringing as the words on the screen caught the boys' gaze.

Hilary finally found the phone and pressed it to her ear after extending the antennae. "Hello?"

* * *

Kohari: Sound familiar? Well, I promise it's not her mother this time. You'll wanna read the next chapter, though! There's more to this Archangel than meets the eye. And Kai knows something about it that the others don't. So what's so strange about this new bitbeast? Find out in chapter five,but until then - review please! 


	5. Different

**_Forming a Promise_**

Kohari: Yes, I am well aware of how late you all think I am. Deal with it! I updated! (And since the line separator thingy isn't working in the Document Manager right now, I gotta improvise...)

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"I'll find out what it's called," the Chief promised, typing viciously on the keyboard. They waited for what seemed like hours, though, in reality, it was only couple of moments. Then, letters scrolled across the screen - brightly colored letters in orange and pink that stood out against the black background.

ARCHANGEL

They didn't have much time to stand in awe. At that same time, Hilary's cell phone began to ring again, and Tyson and Kai entered the dojo. Hilary searched herself for the source of the high-pitched ringing as the words on the screen caught the boys' gaze.

Hilary finally found the phone and pressed it to her ear after extending the antennae. "Hello?"

After a few moments of confused silence, Hilary took the phone away from her ear and looked at it curiously.

"Who was it?" Tyson asked the standard question.

"I dunno," she confessed. "They hung up."

Suddenly, the letters on the computer began to scramble all around the computer, slowly at first, and then faster, and faster, and then suddenly, like an explosion, disappeared in a brilliant flash of light, and there was total darkness on Dizzi's monitor.

Kai picked up Hilary's beyblade and turned it over and over in his hand, examining it very closely. The others understood his need for concentration and kept quiet during the investigation. The bit piece was very strange. In the center was a shimmering huntress, a woman dressed in gold with matching hair, grasping a bow and arrow pointed slightly upward ready to attack. In its background was a fox, so light you could barely see it. A golden fox baring its teeth with nine tails frozen as they swished in different directions.

"A shapeshifter," Kai observed. "These are very powerful," he told her as he gave the possession back to its owner, "so use it wisely." Then he left, closing the dojo door behind him.

"What's with him?" Tyson asked stupidly. The others exchanged puzzled looks.

"A shapeshifter, huh? I've heard of them," Kenny informed them. "They're super-rare. I've never even seen one. And, like Kai said, super-powerful."

"Wow," Tyson commented in awe.

Hilary said nothing, but stared at her new partner. Was everything about to change? How much? And what was going to happen now?

"Hilary?" Kenny attempting to break through. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just..."

Sensing the tension in the room, Tyson suggested going back to training.

"Good idea," Kenny complimented him. "Hey, this would be a great opportunity to test out your 'new' blade!"

"I guess..." Hilary admitted.

The boys went outside, but Hilary stayed behind for a moment. Things were definitely about to change. The question was, did she really want it to? Her life had been fine before, so why?

She sighed, resigning herself to reality, and followed her teammates to give her new partner, Archangel, a test drive.

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Kohari: Yes, I know. Short. But we've had shorter chapters before, so...I'll try to get an update really soon. And I think it's way more than y'all deserve, seeing as nobody reviewed chapter four! Anyways, I'll try to get an update soon, but in the meantime, y'all, please review.


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